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<\/a>This blog was supposed to be<\/strong> about Santa Fe.\u00a0\u00a0I had planned a trip there last weekend to attend a birthday bash for one of my closest friends.\u00a0 I\u00a0planned to eat a lot, drink too much and soak in the sites.\u00a0 I planned to\u00a0roast her with a birthday tribute and\u00a0re-connect with old friends.\u00a0 Those were my plans.\u00a0 But on the Tuesday prior to the event the honoree’s 45 year-old daughter died of a pulmonary embolism.<\/strong> Suddenly, our plans changed.\u00a0 Instead of flying off for a fun, celebratory weekend in Santa Fe, we were boarding a plane to Chicago to attend funeral services.\u00a0 Oh, how quickly our lives can change.<\/p>\nAs we reach “senior status” it becomes more common to experience loss<\/strong>.\u00a0 In the last five years both my brother and I have lost our mother and our childhood best friend.\u00a0 Numerous friends have lost spouses or are supporting them through life-changing illnesses.\u00a0 Somehow we expect to encounter these events as we grow older.\u00a0 But losing a 45 year-old, in the prime of her life<\/strong>, happily married and with a 12 year-old daughter just seems so wrong.\u00a0 It is<\/em> wrong.\u00a0\u00a0 And it is a good reminder that tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us.<\/p>\n That notion was hammered home to me many years ago when\u00a0a friend\u00a0lost her husband to cancer at an early age.\u00a0 After his diagnosis she lamented, “I think about all the hours I stayed at the office doing busy work<\/strong> when I could\u00a0have gone home.\u00a0 I wish I had those hours back.”\u00a0 Her sincere regret about her prioritization had a profound affect on me.\u00a0 After that I never spent more time at work than I needed to.\u00a0 I resisted the “how late did you work last night?”<\/strong> competition that seemed to\u00a0pervade every workplace.\u00a0 I had seen first-hand the downside of that game.\u00a0 It was a good – if painful – lesson on making sure those around us know how important they are.\u00a0\u00a0It’s why, as sappy as it sounds, I never leave the house without telling my husband that I love him and I end\u00a0each day by\u00a0telling Dash the Wonder Dog<\/strong> how much I appreciate all that he does for us.\u00a0 Dogs don’t live nearly as long as they should.\u00a0 But then again, neither do some very good people.<\/p>\n My friend’s life is forever changed<\/strong> and those who care about their family are also struggling\u00a0to make some sense of it.\u00a0 I think most people when faced with these horrible events take some stock.\u00a0 It’s a good reminder that we can’t take anything<\/strong> for granted.\u00a0 All of our checklists, day planners and to-do lists can be just wishful thinking.\u00a0 And it’s a wake-up call (at least for me)\u00a0on how we spend time.\u00a0 It’s too easy to get sucked into surfing\u00a0the internet on the iPad or watching dog videos.\u00a0 It’s also worth remembering that not all things – or all people – are worth our time<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0We need to make each day count, spent with people and activities than enrich, rather than detract.\u00a0 For me the only small way that I can think of to pay tribute to a life lost too soon is to cherish every day I’m given and live it to the fullest.<\/p>\n Rest in peace, dear Staci D’Ancona Levy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson This blog was supposed to be about Santa Fe.\u00a0\u00a0I had planned a trip there last weekend to attend a birthday bash for one of my closest friends.\u00a0 I\u00a0planned to eat a lot, drink too much and … read more